Daily Archives: March 9, 2017

Letter to White House and agencies requests information on procedures for proper preservation – “House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) sent a letter to the White House and 55 federal agencies requesting information on how each entity is complying with the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and the Federal Records Act (FRA). Recent news reports raise questions as to whether some White House officials and federal employees are using various messaging applications to conduct official business, in possible violation of the PRA and FRA.

Excerpts from the letter:

“Federal recordkeeping and government transparency laws such as the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act ensure the official business of the federal government is properly preserved and accessible to the American public.”

“Official business must be conducted in such a way as to preserve the official record of actions taken by the federal government and its employees.”

“Many of the messages sent from [President Trump’s twitter] accounts are likely to be presidential records and therefore must be preserved. It has been reported, however, that President Trump has deleted tweets, and if those tweets were not archived it could pose a violation of the Presidential Records Act.”

“Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure depicts the condition and performance of American infrastructure in the familiar form of a school report card—assigning letter grades based on the physical condition and needed investments for improvement.” Continue Reading

“Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin announced today that the state of Hawaii has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in its federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump, following the new executive order banning travel from six Muslim-majority nations issued earlier this week. Today’s filings ask the court to declare that sections 2 and… Continue Reading

Follow up to previous postings, Animal welfare information wiped from USDA website and Some animal welfare data removed from USDA site is restored – via AltGov2 (kudos and thanks to Russ Kick and note that AltGov 2 is another new website project by Russ) “They did it again. At the beginning of February, the USDA’s… Continue Reading

There’s a lot going on….“Libraries Transform:” Join us in celebrating National Library Week 2017 (April 9-15) Get ready for 2017’s National Library Week (April 9-15)! During this week and throughout April, U.S. libraries of all types host special events to highlight the unique role libraries play in people’s lives and to promote library use and… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee – Judge Neil M. Gorsuch Nominee to be Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the United States Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Questionnaire & other Nomination Materials – This link will be updated as material is received. Instructions for Media Covering the Hearing “On January 31, 2017, President Donald J. Trump announced… Continue Reading

“Yesterday OIP posted the Department’s 2016 Litigation and Compliance Report. In accordance with the FOIA, the Department submitted this Report to Congress and the President detailing our efforts to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA, as well as a listing of all FOIA litigation cases received and decided in the prior calendar year. The report… Continue Reading

Fortune – The 100 Best Companies to Work For: Why They Matter:”Since 1998, Fortune has been publishing a list of employees’ 100 favorite companies in the country. The result has been a two-decade tour de force showcasing industry-leading benefits, like Adobe’s six-month paid maternity leave, and mind-bending perks, like Publix’s holiday bonus of up to… Continue Reading

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